Eight WOLFF cranes build blue quarters in Flanders

A trendy residential and shopping district is currently under construction until the end of 2018 on the so-called “Blue Boulevard” in the marina of Hasselt. Eight yellow WOLFF cranes in the house colors of the contractor STRABAG Belgium NV ensure that building materials get moved from A to B on this construction site in the capital of the Belgian province Limburg. Fast installations and precisely coordinated tower heights provide for a smooth construction progress despite confined space conditions.

Eight WOLFFs are conducting the construction site

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All eight WOLFF 6015, 6023 and 6031 tower cranes are flat top cranes from the WOLFF clear series. “We chose these cranes because they have fewer components and are quicker to assemble than other crane types,” explains Dave De Keyser, Managing Director of STRABAG BMTI BVBA, the service company of STRABAG Belgium NV. In addition, the maximum load capacities of the cranes from 8.5 to 12 tons optimally meet the requirements on the construction site, such as the handling of reinforcing steel mesh and concrete skips. With tower heights from 46.1 to 73.5 meters and jib lengths between 50 and 60 meters, the WOLFF cranes slew effortlessly below each other and do not get in each other’s way when lifting formwork elements and precast concrete components.

Heavy mobile cranes assemble the WOLFF ensemble

The assembly of the top-slewing cranes had to be minutely planned and offered quite a spectacular sight: Two mobile cranes with load capacities of 250 and 400 tons and a working radius of 35 to 40 meters gradually let the eight cranes grow to their final heights within three months. Due to limited space on the construction site, the mobile cranes managed the assembly from the road. As a result, traffic was temporarily blocked, which required a special permit from the city administration and the police. In some cases, the police even secured the erection of the cranes on site.

“Since all of the cranes are freestanding, they were anchored in massive concrete foundations. We therefore turned to the two-part WOLFF foundation anchor. The spigots for the crane connection can be unscrewed and reused, with only the less expensive anchors remaining in the foundation. We also used a larger tower section of 2.30 x 2.30 meters for the WOLFF 6023.8 clear with a tower height of 73.5 meters,” says Frédéric Van Hoorebeke, Managing Director of WOLFFKRAN Belgium BVBA. For economic reasons, the cranes were set up in the middle of the construction site, which allowed for the use of cranes with shorter working radii and lower lifting capacities than would have been required if they were placed on the edge of the site. For the dismantling, the mobile cranes will again be set up at the edge of the construction site.

Clear decision in favor of WOLFFKRAN

Due to the successful cooperation in the construction of the Books residential and commercial complex in Hasselt and the Thor technology park in Watterschei, STRABAG Belgium NV decided to also use WOLFF cranes on this project. “We were also convinced by the comprehensive WOLFFKRAN service from a single source,” says Dave

De Keyser of STRABAG Belgium. In line with its expansion plans for its own crane fleet, four of the cranes used in the Quartier Bleu have already been transferred to the ownership of STRABAG. The other four cranes will be sold to the WOLFFKRAN customer after completion of the 18-month operation at the port of Hasselt.